HP Pavilion g6 Review

HP Pavilion g6

Review Summary:

The HP Pavilion g6 is recommendable to budget-conscious users. However, shoppers looking for a better multimedia experience should consider HP's higher end Pavilion dv6

Pros

• Almost five hours of battery
• Good performance for the price
• Decent build quality

Cons

• Glossy plastic everywhere
• Low screen resolution
• Weak screen lid
• Poor speakers

HP Pavilion g6 Full Review

 

Are you looking for an inexpensive sub-$500 notebook for basic home and office use? The 15.6-inch HP Pavilion g6 might just deliver the best bang for your bucks. We took an in-depth look at this budget laptop to see if you can save money and still buy an impressive new PC.

Build and Design
The HP Pavilion g6 ($499) has a generic-looking exterior of black and gray. Nearly all visible surfaces of the notebook are made of glossy plastic, which is unfortunate since it smudges up easily and is not as durable as matte plastic over time. Strangely enough the screen bezel is matte plastic.

The g6 is rather sturdy for a budget notebook. The chassis is stiff and takes effort to twist. Additionally, the palm rest and surrounding areas don't flex or bend when pushed down upon. The display panel (and more specifically the screen lid) is the only part that needs improvement; it is flimsy and twists easily; ripples also show up on the screen when pushed in on from behind. I was impressed however by the display hinges, which are metal and very securely anchored to the chassis. The display hardly wobbles at all.

In the end the build quality is slightly better than expected for this price range. Those seeking to add additional RAM or replace the hard drive will be able to do so with ease; a single panel on the bottom of the notebook holds both components and the wireless card.

Ports and Features
There is an average selection of ports with nothing special or unexpected. The g6 lacks USB 3.0, eSATA, DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard slot. We would have liked to see USB 3.0 for quicker transfers of large files like high-res photos and HD movies, but you can only expect so much from a budget laptop. All picture descriptions shown below are listed from left to right.

Front: Speakers	Back: Battery pack
Left: VGA, cooling exhaust vent, Ethernet, HDMI out, 2x USB 2.0, microphone and headphone jacks, media card reader, status lights

Screen and Speakers
The g6 has a 15.6-inch display with a 720p (1366x768) resolution and a glossy surface. This is a typical display for a budget notebook. Brightness is satisfactory; contrast is low and color reproduction is a bit cold - some colors look washed out. Viewing angles are poor from above and below, which is expected since this is a TN-type panel. The glossy surface helps contrast but introduces reflections and is difficult to clean.

The resolution is the Achilles' heel of this display (and that of nearly all other budget notebooks, as a matter of fact); 1366x768 is the bottom of the barrel and the lowest found on mainstream computers. Having just 768 pixels of vertical resolution means a cramped working space; a lot of scrolling is required in web pages. Using two windows side-by-side is impractical. It's unreasonable to expect a better resolution on a notebook this inexpensive, however.

There are two stereo speakers located below the palm rest with Altec Lansing branding. Despite HP's history of using good Altec Lansing and Beats Audio speakers, these are some of the worst I’ve heard on any laptop, netbooks included. The sound is muffled and bass notes clip the sound.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Pavilion g6 has a full-size keyboard but no separate numeric keypad. The square flat-topped keys have a chiseled base to create extra space between them. The keyboard feels and sounds cheap; the keys make a slight rattling sound when pressed. Tactile feedback is substandard; it doesn't exactly encourage typing. Surprisingly the keyboard has a solid base with no flex. The matte texture of the keys will most definitely wear shiny over time; I saw it happening on our review unit over the span of a week. Overall the keyboard gets a passing grade but that's all; the keyboard on higher-priced HP Pavilion notebooks is much better.

The touchpad is good for a consumer notebook. The dimpled surface has too much texture for my taste but is certainly better than having an all-glossy surface from a usability standpoint. The buttons are quiet and unobtrusive which is always welcome and how touchpads should be; inexpensive consumer notebooks are notorious for loud, clacky touchpad buttons.

Right: DVD burner, USB 2.0, AC power,Kensington Lock slot

Our HP Pavilion g6-1A69US test unit has the following configuration:

• 15.6-inch glossy 720p display (1366x768 resolution)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i3-380M dual-core processor (2.53GHz, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)
• Intel HM55 chipset
• Integrated Intel HD graphics
• 4GB DDR3-1066 RAM (2x 2GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
• 500GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drive (ST9500325AS)
• 802.11n wireless network adapter (Atheros AR9285)
• No internal Bluetooth
• Integrated webcam
• Built-in tray-load DVD burner (hp DVDRAM GT31L)
• One-year limited warranty
• 6-cell Li-ion battery (10.8V, 4200mAh)
• Weight: 5.5 lbs.
• Dimensions: 14.72 x 9.65 x 1.20~1.42 inches.
• MSRP: $499.99

The specifications are quite basic though slightly above the bare minimum being sold today. This notebook as configured is perfectly adequate for college students and home users who want to browse the Internet and use an office productivity suite. It's not suitable for playing modern 3D games like Call of Duty, and, due to the low-resolution screen would not be optimal for Photoshop or intense multitasking.

Performance and Benchmarks
Our readers should note that the Core i3-380M used in the $499 version of the g6 is an older first-generation Core i-series processor; it has since been replaced by the second-gen i3-2310M and i3-2330M processors. The newer processors are faster but more importantly better on power consumption, which would have been nice. HP likely got a good deal on the older processors. Additionally I’m disappointed to see the Seagate 7200.4 series hard drive installed; it is ancient by computing standards (slowing down overall system performance) and made too many clicking noises.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

PCMark 7 is a newer benchmark which measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
A single fan pushes warm air out the left side of the chassis. The fan is always on. At idle the fan is easily dismissed as background noise; under load it gets noticeably louder and develops a slight whine. The fan is noisier than it should be; ideally the fan would shut off when not needed.

The chassis remained cool to the touch over extended periods, which is one positive aspect of an always-on fan.

Battery Life
I measured 4 hours, 45 minutes of battery life from the g6's standard 6-cell battery (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds). This is a very good time for a budget notebook and certainly much better than a similarly-priced notebook would have produced several years ago.

Battery life test results (higher scores mean better battery life):

Conclusion
The HP Pavilion g6 is a solid choice for those in search of a budget notebook for basic use, including Internet surfing and Microsoft Office. Its highlights include good performance, almost five hours of battery life, a cool operating temperature, and decent build quality. The downsides are minor but notable; my number one complaint is the over-the-top use of glossy plastic, which turns the notebook into an eyesore and compromises durability. Furthermore, the keyboard could have had a better feel and the display panel could be sturdier. Lastly, the speakers are poor even by notebook standards.

Items on the wish list include a higher screen resolution and newer Intel processors, but that is simply not going to happen at this price range. In the face of things, most of my complaints are relatively mild.

The HP Pavilion g6 is recommendable to budget-conscious users. However, shoppers looking for a better multimedia experience should consider HP's higher end Pavilion dv6 ... if another $100 won't break the bank; the dv6 is an upgrade in nearly every area over the g6.

Pros:

• Almost five hours of battery
• Good performance
• Decent build quality

Cons:

• Glossy plastic everywhere
• Low screen resolution
• Weak screen lid
• Poor speakers

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score